Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda McClain.
Hi Amanda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
From Legacy to Leadership: How Southern Cuts Was Born
For me hair isn’t just a career — it’s heritage.
Raised in Columbia in a salon my mother and grandmother owned for 45 years, I quite literally grew up in the beauty industry. While other children played after school, I was taking down roller sets, sweeping floors, and scrubbing hairspray off salon chairs. By 12, I was cutting her friends’ hair. By 14, I was cutting my brother’s and the neighbor kids’ too.
But I didn’t plan to follow in their footsteps.
Watching my grandmother start work at 4:30 a.m. and leave the shop at 7 p.m., serving people with grace — some kind, some demanding — I saw firsthand the sacrifice service requires. I admired their dedication but dreamed of becoming a nurse. I completed two years of nursing school before life shifted my path. Becoming a young mother meant putting school on hold, and the pause stretched longer than expected. I worked various jobs, supported nonprofits, and searched for stability while raising my son.
Then tragedy struck.
In 2007, My mother was tragically taken from us. In the midst of overwhelming grief, I was also raising my son, caring for my 13-year-old brother, and soon discovered I was expecting another child. It was a season of uncertainty, heartbreak, and responsibility.
And then, an angel arrived.
My mother’s dear friend, Mrs Terry, stepped in — not just as a mentor, but as family. She trained me privately, teaching me the technical skills of cutting hair in a professional setting, but more importantly, she taught me confidence, business sense, resilience, and heart. For nearly ten years, I worked beside her — learning, growing, healing.
In 2017, with faith and determination, I opened Southern Cuts from the ground up — with no investors, no safety net, and everything on the line. What started with little more than grit and belief became something much bigger: a woman-owned business built on legacy, love, and community.
Today, Southern Cuts is more than a Barbershop. It’s a space where stories are shared, confidence is restored, and generations connect — just like the shop I grew up in. I carrie forward the work ethic of my mother, the spirit of her grandmother, and the guidance of Miss Terry in every client I serve.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, “but this career was meant for me 100 percent. It was in my blood all along.” I’m deeply grateful for the community that has supported Southern Cuts through the years — the loyal clients, the families who return, the referrals, the encouragement. Every haircut represents not just service, but survival, faith, and purpose.
From sweeping floors as a little girl to owning my own shop, My story is one of resilience and legacy — proof that sometimes the path we resist is the very one we were born to walk.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My loving husband my brothers and all our sons an family. Thank you for stand with us!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Southerncutsbarbershop.com
